To Find You Again by Maureen McKade Read Free Book Online Page A

husband Fast Elk, the brave who found me. They'd had a daughter who would've been my age but had died only a month earlier." Emma easily remembered the fondness and patience her adopted parents had shown her as they taught her their language and customs. "They live in a harsher world, which is why their ways seem so barbaric to us. But deep down, they're a lot like us."
    Startled, Sarah drew back to look at Emma. "You can say that after what they did to you?"
    Emma cupped her sister's tear-dampened face and peered into her eyes. "They saved my life, Sarah. I know people around here say i was their captive, but i was free to leave if I'd wanted to. But where would I have gone? I was miles from any town. i lived with them and didn't allow my fear to turn into hatred, and I became friends with them. After a while, I learned to enjoy my new life."
    She wished she could confess everything—her marriage, her child, how she came to love her adoptive parents—but fear kept her from doing so. Sarah might understand or she might not. Emma couldn't take that chance, especially now that she knew what must be done.
    Sarah clasped her hands. "I'm glad, Emma. I'm glad they saved your life and I'm glad you're home."
    Emma's throat tightened and she hugged her sister one last time. "Thank you for coming to check on me."
    Sarah rose and smiled tremulously. "You used to do it for me when we were little. Goodnight, Emma."
    "Goodnight."
    After Emma heard her sister's bed frame creak in the room next to hers, she threw back her covers and rose to sit in the window seat. Pushing aside the curtain, she gazed into the darkness, lit only by a slivered moon. In two weeks the moon would be full, just as in her vision.
    And Emma was certain it was a vision, sent to her by Owl, the messenger. For the past week, he'd been trying to tell her something. Now she understood. She had to find Chayton, the wolf pup in her vision, before he was killed by the lion.
    Who was the mountain lion? Or had the large cat only been the symbol of approaching death? The unease she'd been experiencing throughout the past days bloomed to full-grown dread.
    She'd been preparing to escape before she was forced to travel to St. Paul, but she'd wanted to find a guide. Her aborted attempt to hire Cullen had been a desperate measure.
    Even now, in the security of her own room, Cullen's dirty words retained their power to humiliate her. Emma drew up her knees, laid a burning cheek on their coolness, and wrapped her arms around her legs.
    She closed her eyes, remembering how grateful she'd been when Ridge Madoc had come to her assistance. But then she'd seen the look in his eyes. He thought little better of her for being alone with a man in the darkness. Maybe he figured she deserved what Cullen had done. But, no, if he thought that, he wouldn't have interfered. He'd heard her cry out and had acted like a gentleman to help her. But as much as she wanted to make Ridge the hero, he, too, couldn't look past her being a "squaw woman."
    However, for a moment, when he'd so carefully fixed her dress over her shoulder, Emma couldn't deny the empty yearning in her chest. After Enapay had died, she'd buried her needs and found solace in caring for her child. But sometimes, in the middle of the night, she remembered how her husband had touched her and made her body writhe until he filled her and quenched the fire in her belly. When those memories became too powerful, Emma would touch herself under the curtain of darkness and find the release her body so desperately craved. But it was never enough. Ridge's touch reminded her of dark nights and shared pleasures.
    A breeze jangled the shutters and Emma ached with fear for her son. How could she have left him behind? It didn't matter that a soldier's saber had wounded her or that terrible screams and horrific sights had paralyzed her. She should have searched until she found Chayton or died trying. But that choice had been taken from her when a